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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25658401">Where He Was Dead and She Was Not</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaleWrites/pseuds/GaleWrites'>GaleWrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Zero Escape (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akane knows everything, F/M, M/M, Multi, Not that canon compliant means much in a verse built on canon AUs, OTeamC, Wholesome triad action, canon compliant(ish), oops I'm a pun gremlin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:48:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25658401</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaleWrites/pseuds/GaleWrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Junpei ended up in the history where he was dead and Akane was not, after his transporter trip? Akane and Carlos are so relieved that some things finally come out in the open.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Carlos/Kurashiki Akane | June/Tenmyouji Junpei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Parallels Fanworks Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Where He Was Dead and She Was Not</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/prosodiical/gifts">prosodiical</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The first thing Junpei noticed when he climbed out of his transporter pod was that the machine seemed to have worked. Carlos was no longer in the transporter room, there was no creepy robotic child trying to kill them, and the whole place looked exactly as it had when they’d first entered it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>The second thing he noticed was that Akane was not in the pod next to him. He laughed and shook his head. No matter how hard he chased her, she always managed to elude him. If he let her out of his sight, she would be gone again. He knew that by now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then again, perhaps she’d gotten out before him. Junpei wanted to believe that she might turn out to be nearby, but he had a hunch that somehow the two of them had ended up in different places. They’d programmed the transporters in such a rush, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine the ‘coordinates’ were messed up somehow in the process. Akane would be fine, wherever she’d ended up. She was the most capable woman he’d ever met, and she would be able to SHIFT out of danger if it occurred. And, of course, he would chase her as soon as he got his bearings and some idea of where to look for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The third thing he noticed was the sound of shouting in the direction of the lounge, along with a strange, mechanical growl Junpei couldn’t entirely place. Perking up immediately, he rushed to the door andproceeded carefully down the hallway in case of a trap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he reached the lounge, he was shocked to find Akane charging at Carlos with a chainsaw, while Carlos hefted an ax defensively. He couldn’t tell what they were saying over the mechanical roar of the chainsaw, but both looked grimly determined.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Akane turned away from Carlos, clearly preparing to bolt toward the farthest hallway, but stopped, her mouth falling open in shock the moment she caught sight of Junpei in a doorway that hadn’t even been visible before. “What?” She whispered, the chainsaw in her hands falling to the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi?” Junpei replied, waving nervously. “Why, exactly, are you two trying to kill each other?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“JUNPEI!” Akane rushed over and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Uh….” Junpei glanced from Akane to Carlos. “Not that I’m complaining about the warm welcome, but seriously, what is going on? And where did that door come from?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Carlos put down his axe with a relieved sigh. “We thought you were dead, Junpei! We found what looked like your head in the pantry. It was… very convincing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh… that probably is me, actually.” Junpei replied, putting an arm around Akane. “I’m not… this history’s me.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akane straightened in his arms and wiped her tears with one hand. “But you couldn’t have SHIFTed here if this version of you was dead. Junpei, what’s going on?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath. “Okay, this is a lot. Let’s… sit down. And maybe put the weapons… away...somewhere.” He gestured towards the bar. “Watching you two try to kill each other is not my idea of fun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akane nodded and retrieved the chainsaw from the floor. “I…I’m sorry. I got carried away. Although, if you’re not this universe’s Junpei… then that means Carlos still probably- ” She scowled at the blond bitterly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, whoa. No. That was... probably Mira. She’s apparently a serial killer. Or maybe Zero, I guess. I know neither of you would’ve killed me.” Junpei tugged the chainsaw out of Akane’s hands, worried she’d turn on Carlos again, and tossed it behind the bar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mira?” Carlos shook his head. “But she’s in Ward Q. How could she get here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The wards are all the same ward, just with this… projection to hide some doors from each team and change the writing on the walls and stuff. If Mira stayed awake when everyone else was asleep, it wouldn’t be hard for her to just…” Junpei shuddered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re… all the same ward?” Carlos repeated. “But that means…” He trailed off, brow furrowing, as he considered the implications of this news.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akane nodded. “That still doesn’t explain how you could have SHIFTed here if you’re dead in the pantry, Junpei.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. That. So, long story short, there’s a pair of transporter pods back down that hallway that can send people to other histories. Their whole bodies, not just their consciousness, like SHIFTing. In another history, we were all told to look for a history where we were dead and Zero was alive to get answers. So, we used the pods. But we must’ve been separated, somehow. We were programming them in kind of a hurry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Show us the pods.” Akane replied, eyes lit up with that familiar fiery curiosity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, sure, yeah. They’re down here.” Junpei pointed to the door he’d just come through. “Wait, hang on, it’s... gone now? We’re probably going to have to break the projection to get in there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did we do that last time?” Carlos asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There was this... freaky robot kid? He attacked us. You dodged him and he smacked into the wall so hard it broke. I bet if we chucked something hard enough at the wall it’d break again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or maybe... the axe?” Akane suggested. “Carlos, get the axe and hit the wall.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got it.” Carlos smiled and grabbed the axe off the bar where he’d left it, then charged at the wall. With one hefty swing, he embedded the axe into the wall in a way that really didn’t seem to make any sense. Bricks like that should have crumbled and cracked, but all three of them watched as sparks spat out of the wall around the axe. Carlos scrambled backward as the sparks grew, the walls began to pixelate, and then… went white. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junpei had been running for his life the first time he’d seen this, so he hadn’t been able to appreciate just how eerie it was watching a very real seeming room go blank. It was like realizing he’d been living on a film set instead of a real house. The walls, floor, even the furniture were all varying shades of white and pale gray.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos whistled, and Akane looked thoughtful. “Why would Zero go to the trouble of doing this? None of us would’ve known if the lounge were the same in all three wards.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junpei shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea. I didn’t really have long enough to think about it, last time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so… These transporters are through that middle door?” Carlos pointed, flashing a look of faint amusement at Junpei.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yep. Just follow me. There’s a lot of rooms down this way.” Junpei winked at Carlos, grinning slightly as Carlos actually began to blush.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, let’s start with the transporter. We don’t know how long we’ll have before Zero objects to what we’re doing.” Akane replied decisively, following Junpei.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Junpei shivered. “That’s why the robot kid showed up last time. Let’s hope this isn’t against the rules.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... Maybe I should bring the axe.” Carlos suggested. “Just in case?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It couldn’t hurt.” He shrugged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding, Carlos rushed back to retrieve the axe while Junpei led Akane into the transporter room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“This is… How does it work, Junpei?” Akane asked, practically vibrating with excitement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Well, Carlos did most of the work setting them up. But from what I saw…” Junpei did his best to recreate from memory the process of turning on the machine, but to no avail. “I’m not even sure if </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> getting this wrong or if there’s something else going on with the machine now...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm. Let’s look around. Maybe there’s a manual or something. Carlos must’ve learned how to operate it somewhere.” Akane insisted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Right, yeah.” Junpei nodded and started looking around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Carlos returned just as they split up, each of them searching a different half of the room. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“We’re looking for a manual.” Junpei explained. “To figure out how to use this thing. The other you, from my history, did this mostly without me. You asked me to hand you things and told me to lay down in that pod. I came out of that cocoon looking thing over there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Carlos frowned. “How did I know how to do all that stuff?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I have no idea. We were together up until then, so you must’ve either SHIFTed when I wasn’t looking, or accessed the morphogenetic field.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“The what?” Carlos asked, but Junpei shook his head. “We can explain later. We don’t know how long we have, and Akane’s got a whole speech about it. But… maybe try to remember how this thing works. Like it’s something you knew, but forgot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never even seen this before.” Carlos protested. “How could I remember something I don’t actually know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seriously, it’s really weird and complicated. Just… trust me. You can SHIFT. So you can probably do this too.” Junpei put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos blushed again. “How do you and Akane know so much about all of this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junpei tried to banish the wicked thoughts that blush inspired. He still had the ring for Akane in his pocket. “That thing a year ago? It was… kind of a crash course. This is too, I bet. You’ll be caught up in no time. Although Akane… I think she might just know everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos laughed. “You might be right about that. I’ve never seen her at a loss.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, at least not when it comes to brains, anyway. We’ve all got our strengths. You’re practically a superhero, after all.” Junpei smiled wryly. “And I bring the sarcasm, I guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A lot more than that.” Carlos countered. Somehow they’d ended up standing far too close together, Junpei noticed distantly. “Look at how quickly we fell apart without you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, nah. It was the whole murder thing. Probably had nothing to do with me, personally.” Junpei cleared his throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s… You mean a lot to both of us. You’re important.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junpei shook his head. “To you, maybe. To her… I’m not so sure. She ran off and left me behind to go off and save the world.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If she did, it was probably to protect you.” Carlos insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Junpei felt himself leaning in, uncertain of what he was doing, when Akane called over. “Have you found anything yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>The two men jumped apart, turning to see a very amused looking Akane. “Uh, no, not yet. I’m trying to... catch Carlos up on some things. I thought maybe he could use the morphogenetic field to remember how the other version of him did it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> what you’re doing?” Akane asked, stepping over with a knowing look. “I’m glad you two are getting along, but now is maybe not the best time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos went from a slight blush to beet red. “It’s- it’s not like that. I’m not… I’m not interested in anything, um, romantic or anything… not until my sister is cured.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junpei was surprised that Akane didn’t seem bothered by whatever had almost just happened between him and Carlos. Part of him wanted to think that it was a sign she wasn’t into him after all, and that she wanted him to date someone else. He couldn’t quite believe that, though, especially with what he’d seen of her behavior when he’d been murdered. “Don’t you think your sister would want you to be happy?” he found himself asking Carlos without thinking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akane flashed Junpei a grin. “He’s right. It’s good to dedicate yourself to saving your sister. My brother did that for me. But I chewed him out for not taking better care of himself, too. Not making friends and having people in his life who could support him… acting like that is bad for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Carlos stared at them both. “I… what? No, I… I have to be there for my sister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“No one ever said someone could only be there for one person at a time.” Akane said. The words were clearly directed at Carlos, but she flashed Junpei a significant look. “A man as openhearted as you definitely has enough love and support to go around. But who’s supporting you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… I… What?” Carlos stammered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Akane’s a smart woman.” Junpei told him, glancing between the other two. “And she knows what she wants. Even if it drives me up the wall sometimes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akane nodded. “You don’t have to make a decision right now, or even say anything more about it if you don’t want, but… when we get out of here, you should let Junpei and I take you to dinner sometime.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... Just to be clear, are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> propositioning me right now?” Carlos asked, clearly stunned. “Is this like… some weird kinky couples’ thing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Junpei laughed. “Akane and I aren’t even a couple yet. Although… when we get out of here I was hoping she’d marry me.” He hadn’t intended to say that right now, but the cat was really out of the bag now, so all he could do was roll with it. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and held it out to Akane.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Akane’s eyes went wide and she nodded. “Of course I will! And no, Carlos, this isn’t a kinky thing. We just all like each other, right? If all goes well here, we’ll actually have time to do things like date and…” She looked over at Junpei with a blush. “And get married.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I’ll consider it.” Carlos replied. “Once we’re out of here. For the moment, though…” He glanced around the room. “Shouldn’t we focus on the situation with these transporters?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Yeah.” Junpei agreed, unable to stop grinning. When Carlos turned to go look in a different part of the room, he gave Akane a brief kiss and put the ring on her hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they pulled apart, it turned out that Carlos hadn’t actually made it very far, and now watched them with an amused expression on his face. “Do you call that focus?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I call that joy.” Junpei replied. “What, are you jealous? We could kiss you too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos cleared his throat. “No, I, uh… We should… really be working.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“If you don’t want to, that’s fine,” Akane told him gently. But when you’re under this much stress, sometimes it’s okay to take a minute to enjoy the little happy things. It can be helpful even.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos considered that for a minute. “... I think that would be a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> distracting, is all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“More distracting than standing there wishing you’d kissed us?” Junpei asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carlos laughed. “I’m pretty used to that by this point.” He seemed to realize what he said only after the words left his lips, and Junpei laughed, as the broad-shouldered blond’s eyes went wide and his smile disappeared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> the fact it would be a distraction that you object to?” Akane asked in a suspiciously sweet voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… more or less, I guess. Why, where is this going, Akane?” Carlos was getting flustered again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no reason.” Akane chirped. “But now we know that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to kiss us. Both of us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I look forward to that dinner.” Junpei chimed in, grinning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s…!” Carlos sighed and lifted one hand up to rub his forehead. “Alright, fine, you got me. But we can’t go to dinner, or kiss, or anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>else</span>
  </em>
  <span> until we get out of here, though.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both Akane and Junpei nodded, and Carlos smiled patiently. “Let’s worry about that first.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for a truly excellent prompt to work with! The idea of them leaving the pantry and finding a living Junpei immediately caught my interest. I love these three and it was a delight to twist two of the worst timelines together and give them some happiness.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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